Asian stocks mostly declined in thin trading following the closure of US markets on Wednesday in observance of Juneteenth.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index edged up by 0.1% to 38,324.10.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.5% to 18,336.76, with the Hang Seng tech index retreating 1.4% after a 3.7% surge on Wednesday, which was influenced by Nvidia’s gains. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.3% to 3,009.72.
The Chinese yuan traded at its lowest level this year, with the central parity rate set at 7.1192 yuan to the US dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. This central parity rate is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the interbank market opens each business day.
China’s central bank maintained its one-year lending benchmark rate at 3.45% and the five-year loan prime rate at 3.95% on Thursday. The one-year loan prime rate is a benchmark for most corporate and household loans, while the five-year rate is used for real estate mortgages.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1% to 7,766.30. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2% to 2,802.00.
Elsewhere, Taiwan’s Taiex increased by 0.1%, while Bangkok’s SET fell by 0.3%.
